Millennials Enjoy TV More Than YouTube

While broadcast ratings have taken a double digit drop this fall, a new report by Video Advertising Bureau asserts that Broadcast and cable TV, and not digital platforms like Facebook, YouTube or streaking sites like Netflix, still come out as the best avenue to reach consumers and in particular millenials.

The VAB report analysed emotional bonds viewers with TV content and how those bonds make an impact to brands and advertisers. The VAB consists of broadcast and cable networks and the largest cable companies that hype the impressive reach of video advertising.

According to the report, adults spend five hours on average watching TV programming each day. That’s more time than they spend eating, drinking, shopping, talking on the phone or watching Netflix, YouTube and Facebook combined. Meanwhile for millennials, TV time is about three hours per day, but TV time is still greater than the other activities combined.

For the adults, the average time spent on TV programing is 43 percent longer than it is for YouTube and 240 percent higher than Facebook, allowing for more engagement. Adults of age 18- to 24 watch 88 percent of prime-time programming live; while 25- to 34-year-olds watch 86 percent of prime-time programming live. These statistics are expected to negate the common narrative that millenials are opting out of linear or live TV and opting for digital content instead. Millennials 18 to 24 spend twice as much time each month watching video content on a TV (72 hours) than on a computer or smartphone, and 25- to 34-year-olds spend three times as much time watching video on a TV (102 hours) as they do on other devices.

“In digging deeper, past the easy assumptions on millennials’ YouTube and TV usage, it’s striking how much more time millennials spend with TV,” said VAB president and CEO Sean Cunningham. “Millennials have an insatiable appetite for TV content and are constantly looking for more ways to connect with their favorite shows and characters—which naturally extends to YouTube. In any given night, YouTube is being fueled by TV content. Our analysis showed that the largest driver of trending content on YouTube was ad-supported TV programs. TV provides a real-time, emotional shared experience that doesn’t exist on any other digital platform.”

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